AiMeD expresses dismay over FICCI’s ‘Un-Make in India’ drive

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) In an unprecedented move, India's leading industry body - FICCI's Medical Devices Division - joins hands with forces inimical to the Make in India drive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving a body blow to domestic manufacturers of medical devices and equipment, which have urged the Central government to withdraw the official memorandum (OM) permitting the import of pre-owned medical devices.

"Nothing could have been worse than what FICCI Medical Devices Division is doing at the behest of MNCs lobby. Much to our dismay and disappointment, FICCI Medical Devices Division is working against the interest of domestic medical devices manufacturers. Its 'Un-make in India' campaign amounts to bulldozing the Make in India dream of PM Narendra Modi," said Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD).

Expressing concern over how the vested interests under the patronage of an organisation like FICCI Medical Devices Division are being encouraged to break the spine of domestic players, Rajiv Nath said: "MSMEs are working day in and day out to make medical devices and equipment in India, thereby not only to strengthen the clarion call of Make in India given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but to make healthcare affordable for all." Cautioning against the repercussions of the move by MoEFCC&MoHFW, Gaurav Agarwal, Managing Director, Innvolution Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. said that the utilisation of refurbished equipment under the guise of C-arms and advanced X-ray systems for performing catheterisation procedures is both misleading and potentially hazardous.

"Against the need of 500 Cath Labs a year to serve the Indian population, Indian manufacturers has the capacity to manufacture more than 600 indigenised Cath Labs which play a critical role in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases, and it is essential that these facilities meet the highest standards of quality,

Critical & emerging technologies to emerge as important metrics of power: Jaishankar

manufactures, what are the market shares, where are the resources, who has the skills, where is the talent pool -- these are increasingly the crucial questions."

reliability, and patient safety," he said, adding that by importing refurbished equipment, we miss the opportunity to nurture a robust ecosystem of innovation, research, and development in the medical technology sector.

Rajiv Nath said: "The entire development smacks of a larger conspiracy, as the move to finish the domestic medical device industry raises concerns for the safety of patients, e-waste dumping, and the affordability and reliability of foreign make equipment. The quality and affordability of healthcare is going to be a sure short casualty for which FICCI Medical Devices Division has conspired with their MNC friends."

Cautioning against the policy of allowing free imports of old, used and discarded medical equipment from other countries, Suresh Vazirani, Chairman of India's largest IVD company, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. said: "The use of old, discarded medical equipment can not only be dangerous for the lives of our fellow Indians but it will destroy our PM Modi's dream of making India AtmaNirbhar in medical technology."

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS)

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said that critical and emerging technologies (CETs) are going to emerge as important metrics of power.

Addressing the SemiconIndia conference virtually, Jaishankar said, "It is not surprising that CETs should now emerge as one of the important metrics of power. Who invents, who

He noted: "The depiction of a Chip War may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth. To a considerable extent, concerns in the CET field are influenced by how market shares and production dominance was leveraged in other areas".

The external affairs minister said that technology trade is not just trade, it is as much as about political science.

Engaged with 100 global suppliers to build chip, display fabs in India: Vedanta

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) The Vedanta Group on Tuesday said it remains committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs in Gujarat, and has already engaged with more than 100 global suppliers and ancillary industries.

The statement came after Taiwanese chip-making giant Foxconn withdrew from a joint venture to manufacture chips with India-based industrial giant.

Seoul, July 27 (IANS) Samsung on Thursday announced the availability of its next generation of 'Make in India' foldables, Galaxy Watch and new tablets in the country that will go on pre-booking from July 27 (12 noon onwards) across all leading online and offline retail stores with some attractive offers.

While Galaxy Z Flip5 (8GB+256GB) will be available for Rs 99,999 and 8GB+512GB variant for Rs 109,999, Galaxy Z Fold5 (12GB+256GB) will cost Rs 154,999, the 12GB+512GB model will come for Rs 164,999 and the 12GB+1TB variant will be available for Rs 184,999. Customers pre-booking and buying the devices between July 27 and August 17 will get offers up to Rs 20,000 on Z Flip5 and Rs 23,000 on Z Fold5, according to the company.

Galaxy Z Flip5 comes with a new Flex Window that is best suited for content creation, while Galaxy Z Fold5 takes seamless multitasking to an all-new level, delivering unrivalled foldable experiences to customers. Meanwhile, Indian consumers can also pre-book all-new Galaxy Watch6 and Galaxy Watch6 Classic from July 27.

Galaxy Watch6 starts from Rs 29,999 while Galaxy Watch6 Classic begins from Rs 36,999 with attractive offers. Consumers can also avail exciting pre-book benefits and can own the all-new Galaxy Watch6 series starting at Rs 19,999.

Samsung Tab S9 Ultra (512 GB) will be available from Rs 119,999 while the 256GB variant will come for Rs 108,999. Tab S9+ in 256 GB variant will cost Rs 90,999 while Tab S9 (256 GB) will be available for Rs 83,999 with some amazing offers. According to Samsung, consumers buying Galaxy Z Flip5 through Samsung.com will get the option of choosing from three exclusive colours -- Gray, Green and Blue. Those buying Galaxy Z Fold5 from Samsung.com will get the option of one exclusive colour - Platinum.

Customers pre-booking Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 during the "Samsung Live" event starting at 12 p.m. on Thursday (July 27) will get an additional exclusive gift of a Silicone Case with a Ring worth Rs 4,199 on purchase of Z Flip5 and Standing Case with Strap worth Rs 6,299 on purchase of Galaxy Z Fold5.

According to Vedanta Semiconductors and Display Global MD Akarsh K. Hebbar,

Vedanta Group remains fully committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs in Dholera Special Investment Region in Ahmedabad district. “Substantial progress has happened to tie up technology and equity partners in semiconductors and we will make an announcement soon,” he said. He said that the state government has allotted the land in Dholera and work is already underway to prepare it for construction of the fabs. “In display fab, we already have a partnership with Innolux and are ready to proceed with speed with full support of our partner,” Hebbar said. The company is currently awaiting the government’s nod to its applications under the modified scheme for semiconductor and display fabs.